Allen, Byron

Founder, Chairman and CEO at
Entertainment Studios

Comedian, producer, media mogul, and philanthropist Byron Allen founded his global media company, Entertainment Studios, in 1993. He now owns eight 24-hour HD cable television networks and also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 41 broadcast and cable television programs, making Entertainment Studios one of the largest independent producers/distributors of television programming. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Entertainment Studios has offices in New York, Chicago, Denver and Raleigh. In 2015, Entertainment Studios purchased Freestyle Releasing, now called Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, a full-service, global theatrical motion picture distribution company. Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures released 2017’s highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN and has plans to release 17 theatrical motion pictures in 2018. Entertainment Studios is the first African American-owned studio producing/distributing wide-release motion pictures. In 2016, Entertainment Studios purchased TheGrio, a digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and blogs on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. The digital platform remains focused on curating engaging digital content and currently has more than 20 million annual visitors.